Photocopy machine



March 31, 1936.

w. P. LLOYD 2,035,558

PHOTOCOPY MACHINE Filed Sept. 20, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet l a" 46 I 29 27l.4o l I a I 'l I 41 42 v| U 7 &/ 7 j I 2 1 1 0 22 42 INVENTOR 7Z 1WIn'tten Ru d ATTORNEY March 31, 1936.

w. P. LLOYD 2,035,558

PHOTOCOPY MACHINE Filed Sept. 20, 1935 4 Sheets-$heet 2 I 1 III/I IllINVENTOR 7 2 Whitzan 7? Lloyd ATTORNEY March 31, 1936.

w. P. LLOYD 2,035,553

PHOTOCOPY MACHINE Filed Sept. 20, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 (J 5-.tamxsiaxmtmxmtmtmtmtmrmxcmtmtmxmtmrmtm rmzmzmxm i u 59 't 2.0 21 42 Q w"x -i //////l l//////////////////////////////////MJ INVENTOR 7- W/n'ttenF: Lleyd ATTORNEY March 31, 1936. w. P. LLOYD PHOTOCOPY MACHINE FiledSept. 20, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR I Wiriiten P Ll Y 0y! MkATTORNEY Patented Mar. 31, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PHOTOCOPYMACHINE Whitten P. Lloyd, Rochester, N. Y., assignor to The HaloidCompany, Rochester, N. Y., a corporation of New York ApplicationSeptember 20, 1935, Serial No. 41 ,414

12 Claims. (Cl. 95-34) This invention relates to a photo copy machine ofthe general type used for reproducing documents, maps, or other records,in which an exposure is made on a portion of a sheet of sensitized papersupplied from a roll, the exposed portion of the paper being fed andsevered after exposure, and it has for its object to afford a practical,eflicient and simple mechanism for automatically effecting the necessaryfeeding movement of the paper through operation of the curtain whichdetermines the size of the area of paper exposed, the amount of paperfed depending on the position of the curtain.

In machines of this character, there is employed a movable curtain whichcan be adjusted to different positions to regulate the size of theexposure on the paper in accordance with the size of the subject beingreproduced, and a more particular purpose of the invention is to afforda construction whereby the paper is fed by devices carried upon ormovable with the curtain and which are set in operation to feed thepaper during movement of the curtain to its closed position, the latterbeing automatically returned to its open position, as determined by anadjustable stop, after the paper is fed.

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the construction andarrangement of parts that will appear clearly from the followingdescription when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, thenovel features being pointed out in the claims following thespecification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partially broken away and with parts insection, of a photo copy machine embodying a preferred arrangement ofthe invention, the curtain appearing in one adjusted open position;

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig.1, the chains being broken away;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view with parts broken away on the line33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the position of the curtainand paper engaging means during movement of the curtain toward itsclosed position, and

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view of the switch and circuit arrangementcontrolling the operating motor.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, in which like referencecharacters refer to the same parts throughout the several views, Idesignates the body portion of a conventional type of photo Arrangedforwardly of the paper sheet 5 in the magazine is a curtain l I whichtravels around an idler roller l2 at the top of the magazine and isconnected to and wound upon a spring roller l3 which retracts thecurtain to open position after it is released by the curtain operatingmeans. It will be understood that any suitable spring means may be usedfor this purpose.

The curtain II is adjustably held in open position, and to this end isprovided at its lower end with a transverse plate l4 having at its op-20 posite ends the lugs l5 which engage adjustable stops l6 as shown inFigs. 1 and 2. The adjustable stops I 6 are preferably formed upon orcarried by nuts ll which travel on the vertically arranged screws I 8,and by turning the screws I8, 2

the nuts I! and stops l6 are movable upwardly or downwardly to vary theopen position of the curtain in accordance with the size of the exposuretobe made.

Screws I 8 carry at their lower ends bevel pin- 30 ions l9 which areengaged and actuated by the meshing bevel pinions 20 mounted on atransverse shaft 2l which extends through the casing and carries anoperating handle 22 at its outer end. The handle 22 may be turned by theop- 35 erator in order to shift the stops l6 upwardly or downwardly asthe case may be to bring the curtain to any desired point. One of thevertical screws l8 engages a worm gear 23, see Fig. 4,

mounted on an arbor 24 which carries an indi- 40 cator 25 at its endoutside the casing, the latter cooperating with a suitable indicatingscale so that the operator is enabled to determine the position of thecurtain at any time, and thus facilitate adjusting it to the properpoint. 45

The curtain is normally open, being held in such position against theadjustable stops by the spring means to which reference has already beenmade, and after exposure, is moved downwardly by suitable curtainoperating means and carries with it 50 during such downward movement theexposed part of the sensitized paper. The paper engaging means and themanner in which it and the curtain are controlled by the curtainoperating means will now be set forth in detail. 55

The curtain engaging means may be constructed in different ways, and inthe' illustrated embodiment comprises a spring arm 26 secured to a plate21 attached at the lower end of the curtain II, and carrying at its freeend a finger or presser foot 28 which engages the paper sheet and holdsit tightly against the endless belt 8. The spring arm 26 is held inposition to engage the paper by an actuating member preferably in theform of a lever 29 pivoted at 3|! and having a cam portion 3| which whenmoved upwardly engages the spring arm 26 and swings it out-- wardly fromthe position shown in Figs. 1 and 3 to the position shown in Fig. 4.

The actuating member or lever 29 is controlled by the curtain operatingmeans which in the present instance includes a transverse rod 33extending between and connecting the brackets 34 which are carried byendless chains 35 arranged at either side of the machine. There arepreferably two pairs of brackets 34 and two rods 33 normally located atthe top and bottom of the machine, as shown in Fig. 2, and at eachoperation, one of the rods 33 travels from its top posi-- tion to thebottom position as the chains complete half of their travel, and duringsuch movement the top rod 33 engages the actuating member or lever 29,as shown in Fig. 4, forcing it downwardly untilthe paper engaging meansgrips the paper tightly against the endless belt 8, and further movementof the endless chains and rod 33 thereupon carries the curtain lldownwardly and with it the sheet of sensitized paper,

As the rod 33 reaches the limit of its downward movement, it rides offof the actuating member 29, releasing the curtain and likewise releasingthe paper engaging means from the paper, and the curtain thereupon isretracted by the spring roller l3 to itsopen position against the stops,the rod 33 assuming the position shown in Fig. 3. This movement of thecurtain operating means is automatically brought about through a switchcontrolled by the operator, and the following mechanism.

The chains 35 travel around sprockets on a shaft 31 which also has fixedthereon a sprocket engaged by a drive chain 38 from a drive shaft 39that is operated by the electric motor 40. The motor-4ll is in a circuitthat is controlled by a switch 4| that lies in the path of the rods 33and is operated thereby as shown in Fig. 3 to open the motor circuitwhen one rod 33 reaches the bottom of its travel, and 42 is a manuallycontrolled momentary switch which may be of any conventional type andwhich, when closed by the operator, maintains the circuit closed for asumcient length of time to permit the motor to operate the endlesschains 35 and carry the bottommost rod 33 out of engagement with theswitch 4|, which thereupon closes by spring action and holds the circuitclosed until the next rod 33 reaches its bottom position and engagesswitch 4| to open the circuit. The switches 4| and 42 are arranged inparallel, as shown in Fig. 5, switch 42 opening automatically shortlyafter it is released by the operator and after the switch 4| that is atthe top of the machine to travel downwardly as indicated in Fig. 4 untilit reaches the position shown in Fig. 3, whereupon the circuit isautomatically opened and the parts are ready for another operation.During such downward travel of the curtain operating means, theactuating member or lever 29 is first moved to cause the paper engagingmeans to grip the paper against endless belt 8, and following this therod 33 carries with it downwardly the lever 29, the curtain l I and thepaper sheet 5 until the rod 33 travelling around the lower sprocketrides off of the lever 29, at which time the paper and curtain arereleased, the curtain immediately being retracted to its open position.The paper is then ready to be severed, and the curtain is in positionfor another exposure, prior to which the operator may change theposition of the curtain if a different sized opening is desired.

While the invention has been described with reference to a particularstructural arrangement, it is not confined to the details hereindisclosed, and this application is intended to cover any modificationsor departures coming within the purposes of the improvement or the scopeof the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a photo copy machine, the combination with a flexible curtain,spring means for actuating it to open position, and curtain operatingmeans for moving the curtain to closed position, of paper engaging meanscarried by the curtain and moved by said curtain operating means to feedthe paper when the curtain is moved toward closed position.

2. In a photo copy machine, the combination with a flexible curtain,spring means for actuating it to open position, and curtain operatingmeans for moving the curtain to closed position, of paper engaging meansmovable with the curtain, said curtain operating means acting to causesaid paperv engaging means to engage and feed the paper as the curtaintravels to closed position, the paper engaging means being free of thepaper during movement of the curtain to open position.

3. In a photo copy machine, the combination with a flexible curtain,spring means for actuating it to open position, and curtain operatingmeans for moving the curtain to closed position, of paper engaging meanscarried by the curtain, the curtain operating means also actuating thepaper engaging means to cause the latter to engage and feed the paper asthe curtain travels toward closed position.

4. In a photo copy machine, the combination with a flexible curtain andspring means for operating the curtain to open position, of ourtainoperating means for moving the curtain to closed position, and anadjustable stop for limiting the opening movement of the curtain.

5. In a photo copy machine, the combination with a flexible curtain andspring means for operating the curtain to open position, of anadjustable stop for limiting the opening movement of the curtain,curtain operating means for moving the curtain to closed position, andpaper engaging means carried by the curtain and acting automatically toengage and feed the paper as the curtain is moved toward closedposition.

6. In a photo copy machine, the combinationwith a flexible curtain andcurtain operating means for moving the curtain to closed position, ofpaper engaging means carried by the curtain,

and an actuating member movably mounted on the curtain and controlled bysaid curtain operating means to actuate the paper engaging means intocontact with the paper for feeding the latter when the curtain is movedto closed position, and to move the curtain.

7. In a photo copy machine, the combination with a curtain and springmeans for operating the curtain to open position, of a pair of stopscooperating with opposite ends of the curtain for limiting its openingmovement, said stops being carried by a pair of vertically movable nuts,a pair of screws on which said nuts are mounted, and means forsimultaneously turning said screws to adjust the stops.

8. In a photo copy machine, the combination with a curtain and curtainoperating means for moving the curtain to closed position, of an endlessbelt, and paper engaging means can'ied by the curtain and operable topress the paper against said belt and to feed the paper as the curtainis moved toward closed position.

9. In a photo copy machine, the combination with a curtain and curtainoperating means for movingthe curtain to closed position, of an endlessbelt, paper engaging means carried by the curtain and acting to pressthe paper against said belt, and an actuating member movably mounted onthe curtain and engageable by said curtain operating means to force thepaper engaging means into contact with the paper and to move the curtaindownwardly.

10. In a photo copy machine, the combination 1 with a flexible curtainand spring means for operating the curtain to open position, 01' anadjustable stop for limiting the opening movement of the curtain,curtain operating means for moving the curtain to closed position, andpaper engaging means movable with the curtain and operable to feed thepaper during movement of the curtain to closed position.

11. In a photo copy machine, the combination with a curtain, springmeans for operating the curtain to open position, an adjustable stop forthe curtain, and curtain operating means which when set in operationautomatically moves the curtain to closed position and then releases thecurtain.

12. In a photo copy machine, the combination with a curtain, springmeans for operating the curtain to open position, an adjustable stop forthe curtain, curtain operating means which when set in operationautomatically moves the curtain to closed position and then releases thecurtain, and paper engaging means carried by the curtain andautomatically controlled by the curtain operating means to engage andfeed the paper as the curtain is moved to closed position.

WHITI'EN P. LLOYD.

